Justin Sourdif, Ken Appleby Lead Checkers to 4-0 Win Over Hartford

The Checkers returned to Bojangles Coliseum and treated a packed house to a show, beating down the Wolf Pack 4-0.

Ken Appleby stifled the Wolf Pack attack from start to finish, making 18 stops to record his league-leading fifth shutout of the season.

The Checkers took care of business on the other end of the ice as well. After a scoreless opening frame, Wilmer Skoog entered the zone and ripped a wrister past the Hartford netminder to break the ice midway through the second. Justin Sourdif followed that up minutes later by absorbing a high hit, then taking a cross-ice pass and burying a shot off the iron and in to double the lead going into the final 20.

Sourdif wasn’t done there, as he extended Charlotte’s lead in third with a highlight-reel play - delivering a crunching hit to create an odd-man rush, then pulling off a slick toe drag before lighting the lamp to make it 3-0. Rasmus Asplund hit a long-distance empty netter in the waning minutes and that sealed the deal on an impressive victory for the home side.

QUOTES

Coach Geordie Kinnear on the game
In the first period I thought both teams were kind of feeling it out a little bit and there wasn’t really a lot going on. Emotions got a little higher in the second and third periods, so a good hockey game and we were on the right side of it. A good effort, and I thought that overall, our guys haven’t played a lot of hockey in the last little while so it was good to get some game action and get in sync a little bit. I thought we built it, but we still have a lot of work to do.

Kinnear on Justin Sourdif
He's emotionally and physically involved, so when you’re that, you can be the best version of yourself. That’s what I saw.

Kinnear on Jesse Puljujarvi
I liked, especially at the end, he had some physicality to him and made some plays in the second period. A feeling-out process isn’t the right word, but just getting in sync and finding some chemistry. I thought he and (Asplund) built it as the game wore on. It’ll be a work in progress, but the first impression is a great one.

Kinnear on the physical game
That’s hockey. I say it all time, I say it to our group and I say it to you guys, but it’s what makes our game so great. The physical, one-on-one battles separate our sport from any other sport. Embrace it and enjoy it, because it’s the best part of the game.

Justin Sourdif on getting injured just prior to his first goal
It kind of happened pretty quick. I scored the goal right after but my nose was hurting a lot skating back to the bench. I didn’t do the fly-by and kind of went right to the room to get some stitches. I just came back out and the guys still had momentum and they were playing great. It was just easy to come right back and keep playing the same way.

Sourdif on physical battles with Hartford
Hartford is a really good team. They have a lot of physicality and they’re a big team and we have a lot of respect for them, but we try to push back. It was a sour taste in our mouth last year in playoffs when we thought we should have been the team to move on, and it’s going to be a battle right to the end. I have a lot of confidence in our group this year.

Sourdif on Ken Appleby
Apple was unbelievable tonight. They had a couple of power plays and he was very steady. His calming presence in net just helped our team in the d-zone. We were really confident and able to transition quickly. He played amazing tonight.

Ken Appleby on how he felt during the game
Good. I can’t really complain. That was a fun game. The boys did a great job in front of me and I dind’t really have to work that hard, honestly, with 18 shots. I just tried to be there when they needed me and they took care of the rest. Those games are always fun to be a part of.

Appleby on staying sharp despite not seeing many shots against
It definitely brings its own set of challenges. It’s a lot easier to stay into things when you’re seeing 40 shots or so and you’re feeling the puck a lot. We’ve worked on it all year, just getting used to that feeling of not seeing a lot of action but staying focused and staying ready. That’s all I really try to do out there, just come up with the next save for the guys.

NOTES

The crowd of 8,615 was the largest since the Checkers moved back to Bojangles Coliseum in 2015 ... This was Sourdif’s second multi-goal game of the season. The other happened just four games prior on Jan. 28. He has at least one point in 13 of his last 16 games, including a three-game streak (3g, 1a) … Appleby’s five shutouts are tied for the second most in a single season in franchise history, trailing the record of six held by Justin Peters. He currently leads the AHL in that category … Skoog’s goal was his first since Dec. 21 (19 games) … Jesse Puljujarvi made his Checkers debut and recorded an assist on Skoog’s goal … The Checkers improved to 2-2-2 against Hartford this season … Checkers scratches included forwards Riley Bezeau, Zac Dalpe, MacKenzie Entwistle, Riese Gaber, Ryan McAllister, Aidan McDonough and Ben Steeves; defensemen Marek Alscher and Mitch Vande Sompel; and goaltender Chris Driedger.